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TUESDAY EDITION: I believe Joe- K1JEK and
select crew are going to HRO in Salem, NH for lunch on Thursday,
always a good group and no excessive ID'ing and they actually talk
about ham radio stuff!....No Yoga allowed in
Alabama schools.....I heard a group of Canadians on 3650
running USB late last night, what is with that?.....A bit of a rough
landing....Thirty of the most
impressive Navy ships....Twenty meters isn't all that bad, I
grabbed a few countries on cw yesterday for kicks...NASA preparing
for ‘colossal
God of Chaos’ rock to arrive in next 10 years...
Special Presentation from Riley
Hollingsworth K4ZDH
This is the problem, we are mostly a lot of
elderly hams and we are not attracting young hams in to our hobby.
The ARRL
is trying to attract younger hams thru presentations at ham fests
but we need to help!
The clubhouse was at full capacity, and we were treated to an
excellent and interesting presentation by Riley Hollingsworth K4ZDH
on the ARRL’s recently-launched Volunteer Monitors (VM) program.
Hollingsworth is overseeing the development and implementation of
this program, which will replace the Official Observers (OO)
program.
He reported that they have had an excellent response from
well-qualified volunteers to man the program and assured club
members that our geographic area would be well represented. He feels
the ability of the amateur radio community to keep its own operating
standards high will ensure a long and healthy relationship with the
FCC. His years as ARRL Atlantic Division Vice Director dealing with
Amateur Radio enforcement for the FCC makes him highly qualified for
this position.
In addressing the future of Amateur Radio, he said that even
though the number of enthusiasts is not shrinking dramatically, the
demographics are definitely changing towards an older average age.
His biggest concern is that those of us in our retirement years are
not replacing ourselves with young hams who understand the full
scope of what they can do with their amateur radio license. He
encourages clubs everywhere to look for ways to engage our young
people and to tap into the interest in STEM education by reaching
out to local schools and youth programs.
link
Photo tour of the Huntsville Hamfest
The Huntsville Hamfest (https://hamfest.org/)
was an amazing event--I understand the attendance on Saturday
may have broken a few records.
Huntsville is the third largest hamfest in North America and
is housed in the excellent Von Braun Center in the heart of
Huntsville Alabama.
This was our first year attending the Huntsville Hamfest and
we published photo galleries for both the flea market sections
and the vendors/clubs on the SWLing Post.
Click here to view the flea market photos:
https://swling.com/blog/2019/08/2019-huntsville-hamfest-photos-flea-market/
Click here to view the vendor/club photos:
https://swling.com/blog/2019/08/2019-huntsville-hamfest-photos-vendors-clubs-and-organizations/
Department of Defense Message Prompts Listeners to Take WWV/WWVH
Survey
ARRLThrough Saturday, August
24, WWV and WWVH will transmit a US Department of Defense
(DOD) message in conjunction with the COMEX 19-3
interoperability exercise in Tennessee. The broadcast also
urges listeners to
complete a survey on WWV/WWVH listenership and
listening habits. The messages are broadcast on WWV at 10
minutes past the hour and on WWVH at 50 minutes past the
hour. WWV and WWVH transmit on 2.5, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25
MHz.
In addition to asking for the name, email address, and
location of those completing the “WWV/WWVH Reception
Report,” the survey seeks information on which station
(i.e., WWV or WWVH) was heard, the frequency, the
transmitted audio quality, whether the information was
relevant or useful, how often the respondent monitors WWV/WWVH
broadcasts, whether the respondent uses a clock or other
device that synchronizes with the low-frequency (60 kHz)
WWVB time transmissions, and any other
information the respondent would consider useful to hear on
WWV/WWVH broadcasts.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
— part of the US Department of Commerce — is using the
information gathered to determine “how often their stations
are monitored and how the various timing signals and
messages are used by the listeners,” Chief of US Army MARS
Paul English, WD8DBY, said on the US Army MARS Facebook
page. “As the saying goes, ‘every vote counts,’ and your
input to this survey is being used to help demonstrate the
importance of these stations.” Listeners may file multiple
reception reports, and anyone may complete the survey.
Earlier this year, the Defense Department began making
use of the provisional time slots on WWV and WWVH to
announce upcoming HF military communication exercises and to
explain how the Amateur Radio community can become involved
in them. Use of the time slots has corresponded with
Department of Defense communication exercises (COMEX); COMEX
19-3 takes place this month. The announcements will resume
during COMEX 19-4 in October
Following a proof of concept this year, DOD anticipates
making use of the WWV/WWVH broadcast time slot full time,
all year.
Concern arose in 2018 after WWV and WWVH were included on
a list of proposed cuts in the Administration’s Fiscal Year
2019 budget request for NIST.
Anyone know what kind of carbs on that engine?
W/VE Island QSO Party
The 2019 W/VE Island QSO Party is this
coming weekend.
1200z 24 August – 0300z 25 August 2019. 15 Hours.
The rules are here:
https://usislands.org/qso-party-rules/
NASA TV coverage of uncrewed Soyuz mission to Space Station
An uncrewed Russian Soyuz spacecraft is set
to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on
Wednesday, Aug. 21, at 11:38 p.m. EDT (8:38 a.m. Aug. 22
Baikonur time) on a test flight to validate the spacecraft’s
compatibility with a revamped Soyuz booster rocket. The booster
will be used to transport crews to the International Space
Station beginning in spring 2020.
The
Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft is scheduled to launch on a test flight
Aug. 21 on a Soyuz 2.1a booster from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in
Kazakhstan - Credits: Roscosmos
Live coverage of the launch, docking and undocking of the
spacecraft will air on NASA Television and the agency’s
website.
The Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft will lift off from Site 31 at the
Cosmodrome on a Soyuz 2.1a booster, which has been used recently
to launch uncrewed Russian Progress cargo resupply missions to
the space station.
Two days later, on Saturday, Aug. 24, at 1:30 a.m., the Soyuz
will navigate to an automated docking on the station’s
space-facing Poisk module.
The Soyuz 2.1a booster, equipped with a new digital flight
control system and upgraded engines, is replacing the Soyuz FG
booster that has been used for decades to launch crews into
space. The Soyuz spacecraft will have an upgraded motion control
and navigation system, as well as a revamped descent control
system.
Instead of crew members, the Soyuz will carry 1,450 pounds of
cargo to the Expedition 60 crew currently residing on the
orbital outpost.
After a two-week stay at the station, the Soyuz will be
commanded to undock from the station on Friday, Sept. 6, at 2:13
p.m.
TV coverage of the launch, docking, and undocking activities
is as follows (all times EDT):
Wednesday, Aug. 21:
- 11:15 p.m. – Soyuz MS-14 launch coverage (launch at
11:38 p.m.)
Saturday, Aug. 24:
- 12:45 a.m. – Docking coverage (docking scheduled for
1:30 a.m.)
Friday, Sept. 6:
- 1:45 p.m. – Undocking coverage (undocking scheduled for
2:13 p.m.)
The uncrewed Soyuz MS-14 will be deorbited for a
parachute-assisted landing in south-central Kazakhstan at 5:35
p.m. on Sept. 6 (3:35 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Sept. 7), where
Russian personnel will be standing by to recover the spacecraft
for postflight analysis. NASA TV will not provide live coverage
of landing. The mission’s completion will be reported on social
media and the agency’s website.
Check out the full NASA TV schedule and video streaming
information at:
http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv
WWV Centennial Committee Prepares for Trial Run of WW0WWV
Special Event
ARRLThe
WWV Centennial
Committee reports that it will conduct a trial
run of special event station WW0WWV over the August 24 – 25
weekend. Radios and antennas began arriving last week, and a
tower and beam will be erected, along with several vertical
antennas. WW0WWV will be set up adjacent to the WWV
transmitter site in Fort Collins, Colorado. WWV
turns 100 years old on October 1.
“We’ll be testing band and notch filtering, in an attempt
to reign in the extreme RF environment created by WWV and
WWVB,” said Dave Swartz, W0DAS, of the Northern Colorado
Amateur Radio Club (NCARC).
The club will carry out the special event operation in
conjunction with the WWV Amateur Radio Club and the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which operates
WWV/WWVH/WWVB. The special event site is within 1/3 of a
mile of all six WWV transmitters and the 50 kW
WWVB transmitter. “On-air tests will
start Saturday afternoon, August 24, and run through Sunday,
August 25,” Swartz said, adding that organizers will post
specific times and frequencies on the WWV Centennial
Committee website.
The WWV Centennial special event is set to run from
September 28 through October 2, and round-the-clock
operation will take place on CW, SSB, and digital modes.
Operations will shift among HF bands following typical
propagation and will include 160 meters as well as
satellites (SO-50, AO-91, and AO-92) and 6-meter meteor
scatter. Up to four stations will be on the air for routine
operations. A fifth station will schedule contacts with
schools, universities, and museums, as well as conducting
unscheduled contacts. The additional station will
periodically broadcast an AM carrier from a radio locked
with WWV’s 10 MHz signal
“At this point we have filled our operator’s slots and
met equipment goals, but we need more financial resources to
cover basic operating expenses, return shipping, and site
logistics,” Swartz said. Members of the Amateur Radio
industry have contributed equipment, including radios,
amplifiers, and antennas.
NIST has announced that it will not be able to open the
doors of WWV to the public for the event. “Due to a number
of reasons, the scope of the formal celebration will be
limited to only 100 invited participants,” the WWV
Centennial Committee announced. “WW0WWV will be the main
public event for the centennial celebration.”
MONDAY EDITION: It's going to be a hot week on
the island of Cape Ann. Two more weeks and the pesky tourists will
be gone with their screaming kids and our population goes from 20k
to 6k, traffic jams gone, the damn divers go away, life goes back to
normal....Everything you wanted to know about
CB radio
but were afraid to ask....
On this date in 1937, the first FM radio station in the US, Boston's W1XOJ
(later WGTR, now
WAAF), was granted its construction permit by the Federal Communications
Commission.
Amateur Radio Is There When All Else Fails
Jefferson Public Radio (JPR) reports on the vital role played
by radio amateurs when disaster strikes
Our communications systems may seem robust, but past disasters
have shown this isn’t the case. Amateur radio groups around the
country, and even in the State of Jefferson, are there to fill
the gaps.
Robb Mayberry is with the Office of Emergency Services in
California. He says that California works with amateur radio
groups frequently, most recently during the Ridgecrest
earthquake in July.
The Jackson County Amateur Radio Emergency Service, or JC ARES,
practices their radio skills weekly to prepare for the next time
disaster strikes. The group’s Steve Bosbach KW5V says lots of
people get involved with amateur radio for the fun of it, but
end up finding ways to help their community.
Listen to a recording of the broadcast and read the full story
at
https://www.ijpr.org/post/amateur-radio-there-when-all-else-fails
Ideas sought for the next FUNcube satellite...more space junk
In November the FUNcube-1 CubeSat will have been
in orbit for 6 years and the FUNcube team are now soliciting
suggestions for the next satellite
The team are looking for suggestions for:
• Confirmation of the satellite (2U / 3U)
• Orbit (LEO / MEO)
• STEM Outreach
• Amateur Radio Payloads
• Research Payloads
ICQPodcast - Long Island CW Club
In this episode, Martin M1MRB is joined by Leslie Butterfield
G0CIB, Edmund Spicer M0MNG, Matthew Nassau M0NJX, Dan Romanchik
KB6NU, Ruth Willet KM4LAO and Ed Durrant DD5LP to discuss the
latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin M6BOY rounds up the news
in brief and this episode’s feature;
News stories include: -
• Radio Spectrum Management Traces an Activated Unregistered
Personal Locator Beacon
• The Internet’s Impact on International Radio
• Australia: WIA board comment
• AMSAT member wins Alabama Outstanding Youth Ham Award
• First UK 288 GHz CW Contact
• FT8 Digital Mode Club 2nd Anniversary
• BARTG GB60ATG Special Event
• 146MHz band Gets Extra Year
The ICQPodcast can be downloaded from
http://www.icqpodcast.com
Handy chart but it doesn't include my favorite-
LMR 400
Altrincham Wireless Society 2QV
In the second of his mini documentary series Lewis M3HHY
covers the history of the Altrincham Wireless Society 2QV
Watch
Altrincham's Forgotten Wireless Society - Tales From The
Airwaves Episode 2
Cuba DX Group celebration
The Cuba DX Group will be celebrating its 39th
anniversary with special activity on September 1st.
It will be 39 years since a small group of Cuban DXers in Havana
founded the Grupo DX de Cuba and marked with it, a before and after
in the history of Cuban amateur radio.
For this reason, the GDXC will grant the certificate "Aniversario
39"
to those who manage to work a certain number of members of the group
during the month of September. The categories of the certificate
will be Gold, for those who contact 20 stations of the total valid,
Silver for those who do it with 15 and Bronze for those who work 10.
All contacts will be valid regardless of band or mode.
The GDXC's members valid for the certificate are the following:
CM2XN, CM3EFM, CM6ARD, CM7OK, CO2JD, CO2KL, CO2RQ, CO2YQ, CO3JN,
CO3LT, CO5LB, CO6HZ CO6OV, CO6RD, CO7JC, CO8BYT, CO8CY, CO8MGY,
CO8NDZ, CO8OH, CO8RBD, CO8SC, CO8ZZ, CP6CL, DK1WI, EA5BB, HA3JH,
HC1DAZ, HK3TK, JH1AJT, KP4SX, KV2H, OH2TA, OZ1IKY, WB2REM, W7HU and
XE1KK.
Good news for diploma collectors is that this will also be a
great opportunity to obtain the "Grupo DX" diploma. For any
clarification and to send the logs with the certificate requests use
the following address
will be used: gdxc@frcuba.cu
To the delivery of the certificate, other activities will be added
that will schedule the representations in each subsidiary, such as
exhibitions, conversations, conferences and demonstrations of
operational practices during contests and pileups management.
The Grupo DX de Cuba brings together the majority of Cuban DXers
and
80 individuals from more than 20 countries. To be part of it, you
only need to have 100 or more confirmed DXCC entities.
Extended information can be found at the following sites:
https://www.frcuba.cu/filiales-grupos/grupo-dx.html
http://xavian2016.cubava.cu/page/2/?s=gdxc
http://xavian2016.cubava.cu/2016/06/09/redescubriendo-el-nacimiento-del-grupo-dx-de-cuba-gdxc-2/
https://m.facebook.com/Grupo-DX-de-Cuba-673195439448184/?ref=Footer
WEEKEND EDITION: Beautiful boating day here, made
it all away around the island in just 2 hours.....some of us old
farts remember
this event......Everything you need to know
about underwear, I bet the hams at most ham radio flea markets
could beat this average.....One tough
lady.........
World's first FT8 contact on 122 GHz
The ARRL reports Roland Lang, VK4FB, and
Stefan Durtschi, VK4CSD, completed what is
being claimed as the world’s first FT8 contact on 122 GHz
The distance spanned during the August 11 contact was 92.08
kilometers (approximately 57.1 miles). Signals were –17 dB on
one end, and –20 dB on the other.
Earlier this summer, VK4FB and VK4CSD claimed a new Australian
record for an SSB contact on 122 GHz — 69.6 kilometers
(approximately 43.15 miles).
Source ARRL
http://www.arrl.org/news/australian-radio-amateur-reports-first-ft8-contact-on-122-ghz
The spectacular end of Longijang-2 moon mission
The last commands to Longijang-2 Moon Orbiting Satellite were
sent from the from OM Reinhard, DK5LA, during a
thunderstorm with lightning strikes nearby his antennas before
the satellite crashed on to the moon surface!!
https://rumrejsen20nu.com/2019/08/10/the-crash-of-a-chinese-moon-earth-photographer/
Karsten HS0ZIL
Amazon Forest operation
Daniel 'JD', IK2SGL, and his XYL have moved to a
location in the Amazon Forest, Peru.
They are international volunteers in a world-wide education
program which contacst and helps the indigenous people of the
region: the Awajun people.
JD is active as OA9DVK mostly on Mondays on
160-6 meters using a Kenwood 480SAT and a Yaesu FT891 into an
Inverted L antenna for 160/80/40 meters and a 40/20 meters dipole.
He has very little time for radio, but he enjoys contacting
people all over the world and practicing his Italian, English,
Spanish, Tagalog, Shipibo and now Awajun.
He adds, "The area 9 of Peru is pretty rare. At the moment I have no
news of other hams active in the area. So if you need this prefix,
just look for me aroung 2200 UTC on 20 meters.
I also have a twitter channel where I usually tweet when I am on air
if internet is available."
He currently does not have paper QSL cards, and can only QSL via
QRZ, LoTW or eQSL.
For more details, see his QRZ.com page
FCC Dismisses ARRL, AMSAT Requests in Small Satellite Proceeding
An FCC Report and Order ( R&O)
released August 2 in the so-called “small satellite” rulemaking
proceeding, IB Docket 18-86, failed to address concerns
expressed by ARRL and AMSAT. Both organizations filed comments
on the FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ( NPRM)
in the proceeding last year, seeking changes in the FCCs
interpretations and procedures affecting satellites operating on
Amateur Satellite Service frequencies.
“These comments address topics outside the scope of this
proceeding, and we decline to adopt any of the requested rule
modifications or updates at this time,” the FCC said in the
R&O. The FCC did mention amateur satellites in its 2018
NPRM, explaining what they are and describing the
documentation and authorization process, but it did not solicit
comments.
“The Commission did not seek comment in the NPRM on
any modifications or updates to the rules governing Experimental
or amateur satellite licensing. The streamlined Part 25 small
satellite process adopted in the Order is an alternative
to existing license processes and does not replace or modify the
authorization procedures for satellites currently contained in
Parts 5, 25, or 97 of the Commission’s rules,” the FCC
explained. “Nevertheless, we received a number of comments in
response to the NPRM, particularly regarding the rules
applicable to amateur satellite operations, suggesting that
aspects of those rules be improved or clarified.”
In its 2018 NPRM, the FCC had said, “Because the type
of operations that qualify as amateur [is] narrowly defined, an
amateur satellite authorization will not be appropriate for many
small satellite operations.”
In its 2018
comments, ARRL said it wanted the FCC to
preclude exploitation of amateur spectrum by commercial
small-satellite users authorized under Part 5 Experimental rules
and suggested that the FCC adopt a “a bright line test” to
define and distinguish satellites that should be permitted to
operate under Amateur Satellite rules.
ARRL’s position was to support and encourage college and
university Amateur Radio experiments where the sponsor of the
experiment is a licensed radio amateur and all operation in
amateur spectrum is compliant with Part 97. Part 5 Experimental
authorizations for satellites intended to operate in amateur
allocations by non-amateur sponsors should be discouraged,
absent a compelling show of need, ARRL told the FCC.
The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU)
announced in 2017 that it would no longer coordinate non-amateur
satellite operations unless directed to do so by the national
administration, and it adopted new satellite frequency
coordination guidelines that require educational and university
satellites to have an identified amateur component. AMSAT’s
comments reflected many of the same concerns that ARRL had
expressed. — Thanks to Ray Soifer, W2RS, for his assistance. FCC Staff Recommends Designating 988 as National Suicide, Mental
Health Crisis Hotline
The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau and its Office of
Economics and Analytics have sent a
report to Congress that recommends that the
Commission considers designating 988 as a three-digit emergency
code for a nationwide suicide prevention and mental health
crisis hotline. The report, mandated by the National Suicide
Hotline Improvement Act of 2018, finds that such a three-digit
number “would likely make it easier for Americans in crisis to
access potentially life-saving resources.”
The report examines the feasibility of using various
three-digit numbers and finds that 988 could be implemented more
easily and quickly than repurposing an existing #11 code such as
511 or 611. The 988 code is a recommendation at this point and
not active.
Suicide prevention assistance is available today through the
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, via 800-273-8255 (TALK).
This national network of 163 crisis centers is funded by the
Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
Calls to the lifeline are routed from anywhere in the US to the
closest certified crisis center. In 2018, trained lifeline
counselors answered more than 2.2 million calls and handled more
than 100,000 online chats.
“Crisis call centers have been shown to save lives,” FCC
Chairman Ajit Pai said. “This report recommends using a
three-digit number to make it easier to access the critical
suicide prevention and mental health services these call centers
provide.” Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2181
for Friday August 16th, 2019
NEW HAMS IN INDIA PROVIDE BIG ASSIST IN FLOODS
JIM/ANCHOR: Our top story this week reports on the deployment of
amateur radio operators to assist with communications in one
flood-ravaged part of India for the first time. Ham radio operators
are helping relief workers in North Karnataka's (Karna-TAKKA's)
Belagavi district, something hams have not previously been deployed
to do in this flood-ravaged area, according to the city's Indian
Institute of Hams. Their radio communication has been based out of a
variety of vehicles including a mobile control station inside an
SUV. News reports noted that 50 of the hams had been trained earlier
in the month for just this kind of intervention during a mock
disaster drill and that these are relatively new hams as the local
postal department only started its amateur radio club last year.
SILENT KEY: RADIOWAVE PROPAGATION EXPERT LES BARCLAY G3HTF
JIM/ANCHOR: An influential amateur radio operator, educator and
engineering expert in the global arena has become a Silent Key.
Jeremy Boot G4NJH tells us more.
JEREMY: Officers of the International Telecommunication Union and
hams worldwide are grieving the loss of an influential amateur who
shared his valuable expertise in radio propagation throughout his
long career. Les Barclay, G3HTF, of Chelmsford, England, became a
Silent Key on the 31st of July.
Les was credited with key input that shaped technical discussions at
World Radiocommunication Conference 2015, leading to the
international secondary allocation for amateurs on 60 metres. Former
ARRL Chief Technology Officer Brennan Price N4QX called his
expertise in ionospheric propagation invaluable and
much-sought-after.
He was given the ITU's Silver Medal in 1993 for chairing the first
Radiocommunication Assembly. He was a Fellow of the Royal Academy of
Engineering and a recipient of numerous honours including the
Institution of Engineering and Technology's Lifetime Achievement
Award, the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1994 for his work in
radiocommunication, the Polar Medal for Antarctic propagation
research, and the IGY Gold Award in 2007. He was a Fellow of the
Royal Academy of Engineering and the IET.
Les Barclay was 85.
NEW DETAILS EMERGE AFTER N.H. TOWER ACCIDENT
JIM/ANCHOR: More details have emerged following the tower accident
that claimed the life of one ham and injured another late last month
in New Hampshire. Paul Braun WD9GCO has that update.
PAUL: As Newsline reported last month, a 40-foot tower collapsed on
July 27th, taking the life of Joe Areyzaga (Array-SAGGA) K1JGA and
seriously injured Mike Rancourt K1EEE as the two worked to take the
tower down at Mike's QTH. It was a used tower that had only been
installed three years ago. An update posted on the Yankee Clipper
Contest Club discussion board and written by Mark Pride K1RX, adds
the following new details.
Mark wrote that the general reason given for the collapse of the
Rohn tower was corrosion at the junction of the hinged base short
legs, where one leg had been previously repaired but not with
galvanized material. Mark wrote that the structure had become
weakened and the first point of failure was that leg. When the guy
wires were removed from their anchor points - a necessary action to
remove the top section - the tower became free-standing. Both
climbers were 35 feet high, wearing safety belts, when the base
failed. He wrote: {quote} "Subsequent movement by climbers at the
top of the unguyedtower led to breakage at the base." {endquote}
He said that normally all hardware associated with the hinge plate
are galvanized to protect gainst the elements. Water or ground
contaminants had collected in gaps under the plate, contributing to
the corrosion of the previously repaired short leg.
Mark suggested the following safety procedure: attach a set of
additional guy wires at either the 10 feet or 20 feet level prior to
any work on the tower to further stabilize the base and reduce
stress on the legs. He named this procedure in honor of Joe K1JGA,
the Silent Key.
NETHERLANDS CAMPGROUND PREPARES FOR YOUNGSTERS ON THE AIR
JIM/ANCHOR: What's better than summer camp? How about winter camp?
It's even better with ham radio, as John Williams VK4JJW tells us.
JOHN: If you're a young radio operator - or even a prospective radio
operator - it's not too early to start thinking about spending part
of your winter in the Netherlands. Winter-YOTA, a sub-regional
Youngsters On the Air Event, will open its radio camp on Thursday
the 12th of December at a full-service forest campground near
Oosterhout {pronounced OO-ster-OWT). Campers will enjoy a full
agenda of radio activities as well as camping activities until
Sunday, December 15th.
The date coincides with December being declared again as YOTA Month,
when young amateurs around the world will be on the air using call
signs with the suffix Y-O-T-A. The winter campers themselves will be
using the call sign PA6YOTA.
It's important to note that the camp is open to prospective hams as
well as licensed hams. Newcomers to the hobby - and young people who
hope to get their license - all are welcome. The only requirement is
that campers be between the ages of 16 and 25 and belong to one of
the member societies of the IARU. If you have questions, send an
email to winteryota at ham dash yota dot com (winteryota@ham-yota.com)
In the Northern Hemisphere, winter will arrive before you know it!
That's when those of us Down Under can start enjoying warmer
temperatures again.
SPECIAL EVENT STATION CELEBRATES 'HARVEY HOUSES'
JIM/ANCHOR: Get ready for a special event that has an extra dose of
ham radio hospitality - because it celebrates a part of American
history steeped in providing a warm welcome to travelers as far
back as the late 1800s. Jack Parker W8ISH has details.
JACK: Organizers of a special event known as Harvey Houses on the
Air are expecting this year's activation to be twice as good as last
year's. Seven stations called QR Zed for this event in 2018 but this
year, you can double that amount: As many as 15 are expected to get
in on the action. The sponsoring organization in New Mexico, the
Valencia County Amateur Radio Association KC5OUR, says the special
event happening on September 14th is as much about ham radio as it
is about hospitality. The Harvey Houses being celebrated by the hams
were rest stops built in the late 19th century along railroad routes
in the western United States. New Mexico had 13 such restaurants and
hotels; Texas had 16. The last ones to close operated until the
1960s. While this is not a contest, hams who contact 25 percent of
the listed stations can get a PDF of a certificate. Contacts are not
being verified against logs so organizers are relying on the honor
system -- and yes, the sponsoring club in New Mexico will be among
those activating. Be listening for the call sign KC5OUR and visit
qsl dot net slash v-c-a-r-a {qsl.net/vcara} for details.
NO CONTEST: CONTESTER MAKES GENEROUS GIFT TO FOUNDATION
JIM/ANCHOR: There seems to be no limit to the spirit of giving that
can be found in the ham radio community. Heather Embee KB3TZD shares
an example.
HEATHER: Delaware amateur Chick Allen NW3Y devotes himself to
contesting at his QTH in this mid-Atlantic State as well as his QTH
in the New England state of Vermont. Chick notes on his QR Zed page
that he's devoted to CW operation, a member of the Frankford Radio
Club and sends and receives paper QSL cards. He is also devoted to
the future of amateur radio and recently made that known through a
donation of $25,000 to the World Wide Radio Operators Foundation, a
nonprofit organization that cultivates skillful contesting and other
radio activities. Chick noted that he hoped his gift would be used
to train and encourage the youngest hams among us to pursue creative
contesting and carry the hobby into the future.
WINLINK OPERATION HELPS MAKE 'CITADEL RUMBLE' A SUCCESS
JIM/ANCHOR: What happens when hams team up with the military in a
communications exercise that envisions a major earthquake? Andy
Morrison K9AWM tells us.
ANDY: Seven San Diego area hams using Winlink were part of the
United States Navy's recent preparedness exercise known as Citadel
Rumble 2019. The two-day earthquake response and recovery exercise
at Navy Medicine West in San Diego was designed to sharpen the
Navy's ability to respond to disaster by following established
response plans. With the help of seven San Diego area Winlink
operators, Navy Medicine West checked in with Naval Hospital
Bremerton Naval Health Clinic Oak Harbor, U.S. Naval Hospital
Yokosuka, U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa and U.S. Naval Hospital Guam.
The seven operators who volunteered to participate were identified
on the discussion group Winlink for EmComm as Rob Freeburn K6RJF,
Bob Younger AI6KU, Patrick Gooden K6PFG, Gary Asbury N6GLS, Mike
Bradbury N2DDS, Rhonda Bradbury KK6KTM and Bill Honaker N9LZ.
Rob noted in a posting to the discussion group that the RF
operations went smoothly. He wrote: {quote} We operated four Winlink
stations simultaneously (three VHF and one HF) with minimum mutual
interference. This was the second year that we participated in
Citadel Rumble with the Navy Medical focus being an earthquake
scenario north of Seattle affecting a Naval Air Station." {endquote}
HAM RADIO BANNED AT POPULAR AUSTRIAN AIR SHOW
JIM/ANCHOR: Families visiting a popular Austrian air show will get
to see plenty of planes and pilots -- but no amateur radio. Ed
Durrant DD5LP explains.
ED: Airpower 19, Austria's popular showcase of talented air
squadrons and solo pilots at Hinterstoisser military airfield near
Zeltweg in the province of Styria, will not be a showcase for
amateur radio. The family event on September 6th and 7th, organized
by the Austrian Federal Armed Forces, has forbidden the use - and
even the presence - of amateur radio equipment.
Mobile phones are being permitted, according to an announcement by
the Bundesministerium für Verkehr, Innovation und Technologie in
Vienna. A statement recently released from their offices notes that
any unauthorized radio equipment discovered on the military property
will be taken away temporarily by the military.
SISTERHOOD AND TEAMWORK LIGHT UP CZECH REPUBLIC CONTEST STATION
JIM/ANCHOR: Take thirteen YLs, a powerhouse of a contest station and
the spirit of sisterhood and what have you got? Caryn Eve Murray
KD2GUT tells us.
CARYN: More than 8400 QSOs later, Eva HB9FPM is feeling pretty proud
of the 13 YLs from six European and one North American country, who
operated special event station OL88YL. The activation from the 2nd
to the 7th of August was a celebration of sisterhood and radio
teamwork. Eva told Newsline that although last August found the YLs
on DXpedition to France's Noirmoutier Island as TM64YL, this year's
venue was Eva's country of birth, the Czech Republic. Though not a
DXpedition, it turned out to be quite an adventure too: The home QTH
was the big contest station OK5Z which has five rigs and an
impressive array of antennas including a vertical, a halfsquare and
monoband Yagis. YLs were also operated elsewhere under the summits
on the air program as OL88YL/P. As Eva told Newsline in an email:
{quote} "As a YL usually you don't have the chance to play too much
with the radios." {endquote} They did play plenty, however, and the
final tally included 6,470 contacts on SSB, 872 on CW and 1,076 on
digital. At Newsline production time, more than 592 hams had
downloaded the OL88YL award certificate.
NEW LIST RELEASED FOR DXCC'S MOST WANTED
JIM/ANCHOR: In case you've been wondering about the DXCC Most Wanted
entities, Bouvet Island remains in the Number Two spot, with the top
spot going to North Korea. In the third and fourth spots,
respectively, are Crozet Island and Scarborough Reef. The fifth spot
went to the San Felix Islands. The list was updated on ClubLog as of
the 29th of July and no changes have been reported. There are 340
entities in all
WORLD OF DX
In the World of DX, listen for Thor DK7RD, Paul G4PVM and Col MM0NDX
as they activate Europe's 5th most wanted IOTA, Shiant Isles between
August 23rd and 25th. They'll be using the call sign MS-ZERO-INT and
will be on the HF bands using CW, SSB and FT8. Send QSLs to M-ZERO-SDV.
Operators Da YO3GA, Mircea YO4GKP, Alina YO9RYJ, Petrica YO9RIJ and
a number of others will be using the call sign YP ZERO F from
Fericirii Island between August 27th and September 1st. Be listening
on 160-10 metres where they will be using CW, SSB and FT8. Send QSLs
to YO9RIJ.
The Royal Amateur Radio Association of Morocco is active using the
special event callsign 5E6A for their National Celebration until
September 29th. QSL direct to EA7FTR.
Listen for Michele, IW7EGQ, using the call sign SV8/IW7EGQ from
Zakinthos in Greece between the 20th and 28th of August. QSL via EM
ZERO OH EX OH's (M0OXO's) OQRS.
KICKER: 'QSL QUILT' GIVES BLANKET COVERAGE
JIM/ANCHOR: What's better than a QSL card? Try 50 QSL cards, all
combined into a unique quilt. Kevin Trotman N5PRE tells us about
this one-of-a-kind creation.
KEVIN: Margie Spangenberg KK4AGN has been taking comfort in good old
fashioned QSL cards since she started receiving them in 2011 as a
new ham -- but there's another time-honored symbol of comfort Margie
also loves - quilts. With the help of a talented relative she was
able to combine those two worlds last year. In a symbol of perfect
unity, all 50 United States are represented in the replica QSL cards
stitched together by a beloved aunt into something Margie calls her
QSL quilt. There are squares stitched together representing the
special event station she contacted in Utah, her 13 Colonies contact
from Delaware and the Marconi station in Wellfleet Massachusetts.
That's just for starters. The images of each card were transferred
by inkjet printer to cotton fabric and with Margie's aunt working
diligently, the quilt was QRV in less than four weeks. Since then
she's been taking the quilt on tour to hamfests - most recently to
the big one this month in Huntsville, Alabama - and she's even
visited a couple of quilting clubs.
A QSL quilt like this is the perfect example of what our hobby is
all about - stitching together far-away places and far-away friends
- acknowledging ham radio's role in the real fabric of our lives.
THURSDAY EDITION: Another day in paradise,
starting the day here at 61 degrees at 545am....Windows
10 warning....
Dayton Hamvention Radio Club of the Year to Hold Ham Bootcamp at
New England Convention....this should be fun...
The Nashua (New Hampshire) Area Radio Society ( NARS)
will conduct a free
Ham
Bootcamp at the ARRL New England Division
Convention next month to encourage and assist new and
inexperienced radio amateurs in becoming more active and engaged
in the various facets of ham radio. NARS, the Dayton Hamvention®
Club of the Year for 2019, operated a guest exhibit for ARRL at
this year’s show. It will also sponsor a
Ham Expo for Young People at the New
England Division Convention, with hands-on activities, videos,
and displays about Amateur Radio and wireless communication.
The newly renamed
HamXposition — formerly known as “Boxboro”
— is hosting the ARRL New England Division Convention September
6 – 8 in Boxborough, Massachusetts. Exhibits will open on
Saturday and Sunday.
The NARS Ham Bootcamp will cover a broad range of activities.
The club describes the event as “a package of hands-on
activities designed to help recently licensed and upgraded hams
to get on the air and have fun.” The Bootcamp is also aimed at
prospective hams interested in seeing what Amateur Radio has to
offer. It will include Technician, General, and combined tracks.
One featured activity will be a guided tour of the vendor and
exhibit area at HamXposition to introduce participants to some
of the equipment that’s available. Some of the topics covered
will include:
- How to make a contact and join a repeater net
- Putting together an HF station
- Radio, antenna, and feed line choice
- Getting started with FT8 and digital modes
- Exchanging QSL cards
- Learning Morse code
- Tips on upgrading
- Introduction to ham radio kit building
- Handheld radio programming tutorials
The Ham Bootcamp will take place at HamXposition on Saturday,
September 7, from 9 AM to noon. Maximum enrollment is 100, first
come, first served.
ARRL Board Pledges to Oppose French Proposal for 2 Meters
At its July meeting, the ARRL Board of Directors resolved
that “at the appropriate time” ARRL will oppose a proposal
by France to include 144 – 146 MHz among spectrum to study
for non-safety Aeronautical Mobile Service applications with
an eye toward sharing the spectrum with the Amateur
Services. The action came as the Board met July 19 – 20 in
Windsor, Connecticut for its second meeting of 2019. The
Board pointed out that 144 – 146 MHz is allocated globally
to the Amateur Service on a primary basis and enjoys
widespread use for emergency communication. It also pointed
to the investment by radio amateurs of money and effort to
build repeaters, beacons, space infrastructure, and
propagation research systems that have global reach. The
AMSAT and ARISS communities would be severely affected as
many spacecraft use 2 meters to facilitate communication,
the Board noted. ARRL International Affairs Vice President
Jay Bellows, K0QB, recommended continuing to monitor the
proposal. If it is added as an agenda item for study for WRC
2023, the Board should consider action, he advised.
Digital Communication Issues
The Board instructed Washington Counsel David Siddall,
K3ZJ, to take appropriate steps to obtain FCC approval for
several changes to the Part 97 Amateur Radio Service rules.
The requested changes stemmed from discussions regarding the
interference potential of automatically controlled digital
stations (ACDS); the prohibition of Amateur Radio message
traffic that’s encoded to obscure its meaning, and false
assertions that ARRL — despite its record of steadfast
opposition — supports or encourages encrypted transmissions.
The Board directed that the FCC be asked to make rule
changes that would:
♦ Remove the current 300 baud rate limitation, subject to
the conditions requested by the ARRL.
♦ Authorize all automatically controlled digital (data)
stations (ACDS) below 30 MHz, regardless of occupied
bandwidth, to operate only within the ACDS bands designated
in §97.221(b) of the Amateur Service rules.
♦ Require all digital mode stations operating with a
bandwidth greater than 500 Hz to operate within the ACDS
bands, whether or not these stations are automatically
controlled.
♦ Limit the maximum bandwidth of digital mode signals
below 29 MHz to 2.8 kHz.
♦ Reiterate to the FCC that ARRL’s position is unchanged
from that expressed in ARRL’s 2013
comments on a Petition for
Rulemaking (RM-11699) filed by Don Rolph, AB1PH. Those
comments specifically addressed encryption of messages and
made clear that such messages generally are prohibited in
Amateur communications by §97.113 of the FCC rules and by
Article 25, §2 of the International Radio Regulations
and should remain prohibited.
The Board also wants to request that the FCC remind radio
amateurs “by whatever appropriate means available” of the
current prohibition in §97.113(a)(4) and Article 25, §2 of
the International Radio Regulations against
transmitting “messages encoded for the purpose of obscuring
their meaning.”
ARRL-initiated mediation efforts for rival parties to
reach consensus on all or some of the issues they raised in
the so-called “Symbol Rate” proceeding ended a few days
prior to the July Board meeting with useful discussion but
no agreement among those parties on recommendations to the
FCC.
Other Actions
The Board tasked its Administration and Finance (A&F)
Committee to assess the feasibility of a Research Working
Group (RWG) and, if warranted, to establish one. The group
would help the Board and ARRL management to better gauge
trends, collect more accurate membership information, and
more closely track the progress of programs. The Board
suggested that the RWG be led by a statistical coordinator
appointed by the President. ARRL CEO Howard Michel, WB2ITX,
would chair the RWG. The A&F Committee will report back to
the full Board at its January 2020 meeting.
Upon the recommendation of the Programs and Services
Committee, the Board directed that the rules for all ARRL
contests be revised to require that each claimed contact
include contemporaneous direct initiation by the operator on
both sides of the contact. Contact initiation may be local
or remote. The Board further voted to amend the DXCC rules
to establish the same requirement for that program.
The Board voted to add a QRP Single Operator subcategory
for the ARRL RTTY Roundup.
Reports
In his report to the Board, CEO Michel expressed concern
that the number of new amateur licenses was down, and, if
the trend continues, it could pose a potential risk to ARRL.
Michel told the Board that Headquarters staff will move
forward with a new On The Air magazine aimed toward
new licensees. “Keeping new amateurs engaged with a
publication geared toward the newcomer is a primary goal,”
Michel explained. He added that the new podcast So Now
What? is off to a good start with encouraging response.
Treasurer Rick Niswander, K7GM, told the Board that
ARRL’s investment portfolio returns were in line with
approximated market returns in the equity and credit
markets, but he remains concerned that the markets are
richly priced in an underlying economic environment that is
starting to show some signs of strain.
Chief Financial Officer Diane Middleton, W2DLM, reported
that the League continues to have a financially strong
balance sheet and generated a larger-than-expected gain from
operations through June 30. Total revenues were greater than
forecast, while expenses were lower than forecast. Cash flow
also continued to be healthy.
Censure Rescinded
The Board acted to rescind its public censure of ARRL
Southwestern Division Director Richard Norton, N6AA. The
censure action, taken at a special Board meeting in November
2017, was based on Norton’s alleged violation of the ARRL
Policy on Board Governance and Conduct of Members of the
Board of Directors and Vice Directors, adopted in
January of that year and itself since rescinded.
Minutes of the July ARRL Board of Directors meeting are
available on the ARRL website at
http://www.arrl.org/files/file/201920of%20Directors/Final20July%202019.pdf.
Parks on the Air
Parks on the Air - now in England
This scheme started out from an ARRL event to activate all
the National Parks in the USA, during a year. So many Radio
Amateurs became involved that following the year there was a
high level of interest in working from National Parks. As a
result Parks on the Air was born.
In some ways it is similar very to SOTA (summits on the Air),
with parks being a lot more accessible, and with Parks on the
Air (POTA) you can, I understand, work from a motor vehicle.
POTAs main website is at
https://parksontheair.com/ everything you might expect is
there, however there is currently very little information on
what is happening from a point of view of England, this I am
sure will be resolved by Andy 2E0UAW who is the English
Administrator. Scotland and Wales being separate, so there are
at least a couple of Job opportunities.
As with SOTA you have activators and chasers (hunters in POTA
terms), you are required to make at least 10 QSOs in any mode
you like, however as you would expect you can not use a land
based repeater, however, you can make contact via a satellite
(this could be useful if you park you are operating is down in a
valley).
You can’t just operate any old park it has to be on the POTA
database, and this in England mainly applies to National Parks,
Country Parks, and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)
like the Lincolnshire wolds for example.
The English Location details can be found at
https://stats.parksontheair.com/reports/park-info-select.php?entity=England
Parks on the Air, as you would expect has a facebook site and
there is some activity on twitter, surprisingly they also use
slack and once you have registered on the POTA site you can get
details on how to join the slack channels.
Ham radio at Exmouth's Coastwatch station
The Exmouth Journal reports radio amateurs will be transmitting
to the world from Exmouth's coastwatch station later this month
On Saturday, August 24, and Sunday, August 25, Exmouth National
Coastwatch Institution will be hosting its annual radio event.
Watchkeepers Alan Campbell M3HXS and
Anthony Howell-Jones M0THJ will let fellow radio operators
know about the work of Exmouth NCI.
Mr Campbell, an amateur radio operator since 2002, said: 'If
atmospheric and weather conditions are right, we could be talking
with folks as far away as the United States.
"It's great to be able to explain to people in countries that don't
have the equivalent of a Coastwatch who we are and what we do."
Mr Campbell and Mr Howell-Jones will be using the call sign
GB8NCI to transmit and will be joined by members of the
Exmouth Amateur Radio Club.
The event is open to the public and runs from 10am until 8pm both
days.
Source Exmouth Journal
https://www.exmouthjournal
.co.uk/news/exmouth-coastwatch-to-host-annual-radio-event-1-6211661
WEDNESDAY EDITION: Band conditions on 75 last
night were amazing, quiet and great propagation. I was talking to
guys in Texas and Florida like they were next door....Ham
video on
Zumspot.....Catch and
release program in NH not working.....How would you lie to be on
this
plane waiting to take off?.....Russia says "shit happens" in
regard to nuclear
missile explosion...This is what should scare us all, potential
home
grown terrorists....
Propaganda and insults on 7055 kHz
The latest IARU-R1 Monitoring System newsletter reports every
day for the past 5 years licensed radio amateurs from Ukraine
and Russia have been insulting each other on 7055 kHz LSB
Playbacks of Broadcast Station transmissions have also been
heard on the frequency.
The International Amateur Radio Union Monitoring System (IARUMS)
Region 1 July 2019 newsletter can be read at
http://www.iarums-r1.org/iarums/news2019/news1907.pdf
Recordings of military transmissions can be found on the Signal
Identification Guide Wiki at
https://www.sigidwiki.com/wiki/Category:Military
Reports of Amateur Band intruders can be logged on the IARU
Region 1 Monitoring System Logger at
http://peditio.net/intruder/bluechat.cgi
Monitor the short wave bands on-line with a web based SDR
receiver at
http://www.websdr.org/
IARU Monitoring System (IARUMS)
https://www.iarums-r1.org/
Caroline North August
We hope the sun will be shining down on the river
Blackwater for the August Caroline North broadcast LIVE from
our historic radio-ship Ross Revenge over the weekend 17th -
18th.
This broadcast sees former Laser 558 DJ Tommy Rivers
making his first appearance on a radio-ship in 34 years!
So join Tommy and the rest of our on-board presenters as
they bring you some of the best music from the 60s, 70s and
80s.
Our sponsor for the August broadcast is the UK's leading
Private Jet Charter retailer Rush Jets.
Listen in on 648 AM in the South and South-East, on 1368
AM via Manx Radio in the North and North-West, online here,
on your mobile, on smart speakers … so many ways to listen!
We would love to hear from you – please send your emails
direct to the Ross studios at memories@radiocaroline.co.uk during
the broadcast.
Radio Caroline
http://www.radiocaroline.co.uk
FAN BREAKS BACK BUT GRADUATES BY AID OF RADIO
From the Oakland
Tribune of March 11, 1923:
SAN YSIDRO, Calif.,
March 10 — There is not an amateur up and down the Pacific Coast who
will not cut in and answer when he hears amateur radio station 6ZH
calling.
These call letters,
meaningless to so many radio fans, have a deeper significance in the
hearts of dot-and-dash amateurs. They know that 6ZH is the only one
among them who has the right to be lonely. “How are things tonight?”
they say. Sometimes they pause for a lengthy chat. Their reward,
though unseen, is a smile lighting up the face on a pillow thousands
of miles away.
At the word of
greeting a hand will reach to the bedside and fondle an old brass
key. There is a splutter, the tubes light up, and singing back
through the ether comes 6ZH’s answer: “Fine, Old Man. How are you?”
Down on his luck,
but what of that? — 6ZH Lester Picker, District Superintendent of
the American Radio Relay League, has brought the whole world to his
bedside and you will find him there in the evening with his chin up,
talking to his pals of the A.R.R.L. along the coast.
He knows most of
them, the amateurs, from Vancouver to the Gulf and now and then he
will seek out an old friend to the banks of the Mississippi. There
is fun in distance when you measure your own movements by inches. If
there is anyone who can get action out of his [illegible], Picker
and his signal is like the crack of the whip.
There is much to
take into account, of course, if it were not for amateur radio in
the first place. Picker would not be lying there with that ache in
his back, but still, if it were not for radio, life would be lonely.
And, yes, here is
another thing, too: it was amateur radio that enabled Picker to be
graduated with the rest of his class at the Roosevelt Memorial High
School in San Diego. The accident happened only a short time before
the exercises and he was due to receive his diploma with the rest.
A rather difficult
situation, you might think, for a chap whose back was broken, yet
the seemingly impossible was accomplished and not only is the
diploma hanging on the wall, where 6ZH can glance at it proudly, but
he also gave an address from the platform of the auditorium. The
chair where Picker was to sit with his classmates was vacant, but
who will say he was not there? At a word from Principal T. A.
Russell, someone telephoned a San Diego amateur, who relayed the
message by radio to 6ZH; a switch was thrown in and a hush fell over
the auditorium, while the eyes of those present turned toward a big
horn on the stage.
“Picker,” thought
his classmates, and listened carefully. In the next few minutes,
there was no other sound except Picker’s voice, not until he signed
off, at least, with his customary “Goodnight, Station 6ZH.”
Even on this
eventful night, he clung to his old familiar call, and in the
interval, he told of the pleasure which it gave him to be graduated
with the others in his class and expressed the hope that he might
join sometime his mates of ’23 and talk over experiences.
And now you must
wonder why Picker did not fill the chair on the platform that night.
One day he was installing a new 55-foot mast at his new station and
the guy wires broke. “Radio again,” you say.
But now you know
why the amateur radio “ops” listen when he calls.
And finally,
from the "A.R.R.L. Events" column of the Woodland (Calif.) Daily
Democrat, March 18, 1925:
Lester Picker, 6ZH,
has received his O. W. L. S. appointment and has already begun to
sign his wavelength after communications.
Youth and Amateur Radio
Belgium's UBA reports the best way to keep
amateur radio alive is to arouse young people's interest in our
wonderful hobby
A translation of the UBA post reads:
On Wednesday, July 31, ON4ALY, ON5ZO, ON6FC, ON4PC and ON4AAA,
initiated young people into the wonderful world of radio and radio
waves at the Fablab of Astertechnics in Geraardsbergen.
Within the weekly organization of Fablab where the 9 to 12 year olds
learned what 3-D printing, laser cutting, programming and robotics
is; they could finally get started with radio. They were with twelve
boys and girls to craft a mole key and to find out more about Samuel
Morse and the Morse code.
The meticulous soldering of an FM radio also generated enormous
enthusiasm when listening to their favorite radio station on their
self-made radio. The experimentation went even further afterwards,
which meant that some mums and dads called that same evening to ask
if the son or daughter's radio could work again. No problem, the
volunteers from the NNV and GBN sections did this and everyone had a
well-functioning mini radio afterwards.
Results Posted for USA, IARU Region 2 ARDF Championships in
North Carolina
The results of the 19th USA ARDF Championships and 10th IARU
Region 2 ARDF Championships in Amateur Radio Direction Finding (ARDF)
are now in the record books. The joint event was held earlier
this month in North Carolina. Results from these championships
will factor into the equation to determine the makeup of ARDF
Team USA at the 20th ARDF World Championships, set for September
2020 in Serbia. Separate youth and adult courses ensured
regulation courses for foxhunters of all ages, with 36
competitors from the US. Visiting competitors from Australia,
Germany, and China practiced and competed alongside Team USA
hopefuls. Competitors ranged in age from 8 to 73. Adult and
youth championships were held simultaneously in William B.
Umstead State Park, with their separate events held on opposite
radio bands to avoid interference.
Events began on August 1, with
Foxoring, a combination of radio direction
finding and classic orienteering on 80 meters, followed the next
day with the
sprint event. The classic
2-meter and
80-meter adult and youth competitions took
place on August 3 and 4.
complete
article at ARRL TUESDAY EDITION: Hacked again, second time since
I changed servers. ....Boxboro Hamfest coming up fast and I see rooms
are still available at the hotel.....
New England Area Ham - Electronic Flea Market
All events are Ham Radio/ Electronic related except "____"
*******************************************************************************
2019 Contact Source
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3 Aug Milo ME PARC @Kiwanis George WA1JMM 207 441 6112 A
3 Aug Cent Ossipee NH LRRA @TownHall $5B $10/T Shawn KC1DNA 603 235 5360 +
10 Aug St Albans VT STARC @Elks Arnold N1ARN 802 782 6650
17 Aug Adams MA NoBARC @FG $5@7 $10/TG@6:30 Eric 413 743 9975 F
18 August Cambridge MA Flea at MIT Mitch 617 253 3776 F
Third Sunday April thru October
25 Aug Newtown CT CARA @TownHall $7@8 $20/T John W1JGM 203 417 0160
7 Sept Windsor CT VR+CMus Antique John 860 803 5530
7-8 Sept Boxboro MA NEHamXposition B$18 Mike K1TWF 978 456 5031 +
8 Sept Ballston Spa NY SCARA @FG Peter W2BEW 518 893 7484 A
15 Sept Cambridge MA Flea at MIT Mitch 617 253 3776 F
21 Sep Alexander ME StCVARC @ FARA @ElSch Mitchael KB1GEO 207 214 0126 A+
28 Sept Brookline NH NEARC antique 603 772 7516
6 Oct Queens NY HOSARC @HOS Stephen WB2KDG 718 898 5599
11,12 Oct Deerfield NH NEARfest XXVI @FG Mike K1TWF 978 250 1235 +
13 Oct Meriden CT Nutmeg @Sheradon John Bee N1GNV : 203 440-4973 A
20 October Cambridge MA Flea at MIT Mitch 617 253 3776
27 Oct Hicksvile NY LIMARC @LevitHall$6@9+$22/T@7 Richard K2KNB 516 694 4937 A
2 Nov Gales Ferry CT TCARC @FireCo auction Tom WA2RYV 860 464 6555
2 Nov Bourne MA FARA @CC Voc Sch Ralph N1YHS 508 548 0422 A+
7 Dec Windsor CT VR+CMus @8 Antique John 860 803 5530
JT9 Activity Days - 'Make haste slowly'
Dear Fellow Radio Amateurs,
We invite fans of digital modes of radio communication to JT9
Activity Days 'Make haste slowly' which will
take place from 00:00 UTC Saturday August 24 to 23:59 UTC Sunday
August 25, 2019 on all HF-bands from 160 to 10 meters. Repeated
QSO can be made on different bands.
The obligatory condition of each QSO is to preserve in adif
file of the Log: the received locator. The occupied places will
be distributed according to the sum of the distances to
correspondents. The result of each participant in the totals
will be presented in the overall standings, including separately
by bands.
We announce the following prize contests:
• 'A picture is worth a thousand words' - The winner of the
contest will be awarded RDRC pennant for the largest number of
QSOs with correspondents who are at a distance of more than
10.000 kilometers.
If the number of QSO is equal for two or more participants, when
determining the winner the sum of the distances will be taken
into account first, and then the number of bands on which these
QSOs were made.
• 'As the call, so the echo' - One pennant of the RDRC will
be drawn in a lottery between the participants in this
competition with a result of over 100,000 kilometers.
• 'Half a loaf is better than no bread' - One pennant of the
RDRC will be drawn in a lottery between the participants in this
competition who will show the best results on each of the bands.
Certificates of JT9 Activity Days 'Make haste slowly' in
electronic form will be reawarded with all participants at whom
the sum of distances up to correspondents will exceed 50.000
kilometers.
All certificates for contests and days of activity, since
2019, are loading on site
http://awards.rdrclub.ru/certificate/
Reports in adif-format (.adi) should be sent to e-mail
address
01-10(at)rdrclub.ru before 23:59 UTC on August 30, 2019. The
report file should be named by your callsign (for example
RK3DSW.adi). In your letter specify the last name, first name,
patronymic, postal home address.
We are waiting for you on August 24 and 25 on the band
frequencies for JT9!
JT9 Activity Days 'Make haste slowly' RULES:
http://www.rdrclub.ru/dni-aktivnosti-rtsrk/825-jt9-activity
73! - Russian Digital Radio Club
Ham radio at Fort Langley
The Aldergrove Star reports on the amateur radio activation of
the Fort Langley National Historic Site as part of Canadian National
Parks On the Air
The newspaper says:
A broadcast tower sitting in the orchard of the Fort Langley
National Historic Site (FLNHS) helped make history earlier this
summer – for the very first time, amateur radio sent out a call from
the Parks Canada location.
For the entire 2019 year, amateur radio groups have been invited to
set up in parks all across the country to send broadcasts around the
world and make contact with other operators.
The initiative, Canadian National Parks On the Air, is the
brainchild of a small group of Ham radio operators from Halifax that
wanted to help spread the country’s beauty and get people
connecting.
With the support of Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) and Parks Canada,
the communications experiment launched in January of this year.
Read the full story at
https://www.aldergrovestar.com/community/coming-to-you-live-from-fort-langley/
Ham radio in Maharashtra floods relief effort
The Republic World reports amateur radios and drones were
brought in to assist rescue operations in the aftermath of the
Maharashtra floods
Rescue and relief operation in Western Maharashtra are in full
swing as several places are battling a severe deluge that has
engulfed the place. Republic TV spoke to rescue teams present in
Kolhapur's Narasoba Wadi.
Since last five days, Narsoba Wadi Village has been submerged
following which multiple teams from the NDRF and Indian Navy
have been summoned to transport supplies and relief material to
the 5000 people who are stranded in different locations. Apart
from the food and medicine supplies, doctors have also been
brought in. Talking to Republic TV, one of the officials present
on site said that boats have been sent for a recee:
In addition, the rescue teams are also using HAM radios in order
to establish proper communication channel. The teams will set up
a base station from where information will be channeled.
"Once the base station is setup, it will be connected with all
HAM radios here. It will be easy for us to communicate with the
teams." the official added
Read the full story at
https://www.republicworld.com/india-news/general-news/maharashtra-floods-ham-radios-and-drones-brought-in-to-assist-rescue-operations
ARRL Board Confers Awards
At its second meeting of 2019, the ARRL Board of Directors
conferred several awards. The Board met July 19 – 20 in Windsor,
Connecticut, with President Rick Roderick, K5UR, chairing.
Philip J. McGan Award
The Board, with the recommendation of the Public Relations
Committee and the concurrence of the Programs and Services
Committee, bestowed the 2019 Philip J. McGan Award on John
Wells, W4CMH, of Fort Myers, Florida. The Award goes each year
to an individual who works to convey the story of Amateur Radio
to media outlets and encouraging media to cover stories on
emergency communications during hurricanes in southwestern
Florida, the quest of using Amateur Radio to search for clues in
the disappearance of pilot Amelia Earhart, the engagement of
youth in talking to an astronaut through the ARISS program, and
the importance of Field Day as an annual event to help operators
enhance their skills in emergency operations.
“ARRL particularly appreciates a Public Information Officer
who successfully promotes all aspects of Amateur Radio so both
officials and the public at large can better understand the many
contributions Amateur Radio makes to education, public safety
and recreation,” the Board said.
ARRL Knight Distinguished Service Award
The Board designated Ohio Section Manager Scott Yonally,
N8SY, to receive the 2019 ARRL Knight Distinguished Service
Award, which each year recognizes a distinguished Section
Manager. Scott also has served as a Section Emergency
Coordinator. The Board said Yonally “is tireless in his efforts
to be present and visible all over the state, representing the
ARRL and Amateur Radio with a positive and forward-thinking
attitude.” The Board also noted that Yonally edits the monthly
Ohio Section Journal and a weekly edition Postscript
to provide Ohio Section ARRL members with the latest information
on happenings throughout the League and the Ohio Section.
Yonally also was at the forefront of improving ARES in his
Section by identifying and initiating the early the need for
FEMA NIMS training, and he’s been a valuable resource in the
development and implementation of the ARES-Connect initiative,
the Board said.
Technical Innovation Award
The success of the FT8 digital mode prompted the Board to
grant the 2019 ARRL Technical Innovation Award to the FT8
development team, led by Joe Taylor, K1JT, and Steve Franke,
K9AN. The Board said FT8 has “proven effective for all amateurs”
and has “proved to be effective” in times of poor propagation,
revolutionizing many aspects of ham radio.
Technical Service Award
The Board conferred the 2019 Technical Service Award jointly
on Alan Applegate, K0BG; and Hector Morales, NP3IR. This award
recognizes a radio amateur whose service to the Amateur
Community and/or society at large is of the most exemplary
nature within the framework of Amateur Radio technical
activities. Applegate was honored for his expertise in mobile
Amateur Radio activity. In 2004, he created “A Website for
Mobile Amateur Radio Operators” that has become one of the most
successful in Amateur Radio, including many articles covering
every facet of mobile operation from antennas to wiring.
Affectionately referred to as “The Professor” by many of those
he has helped teach and train, Morales was cited for his “legacy
of providing educational, training and support activities to the
amateur community in Puerto Rico” and for being instrumental in
translating and developing teaching materials in Spanish for the
amateurs of Puerto Rico, including training manuals. He’s also
been involved in developing emergency communication training.
Doug DeMaw, W1FB, Technical Excellence Award
The Board conferred the 2019 Doug DeMaw, W1FB, Technical
Excellence Award to Rudy Severens, N6LF, of Cottage Grove,
Oregon. A well-known author on antenna topics and a technical
resource, Severens authored the article “Insulated Wire and
Antennas” for the March/April 2018 issue of QEX. The
Board’s Program and Services Committee concurred with the
recommendation of the ARRL editorial staff in designating
Severens as the award’s recipient.
Amateur Radio Centurion Award
The Board recognized three recipients of the Amateur Radio
Centurion Award. These included:
- Reynold L. “Fritz” Nitsch, W4NTO, SK, who was saluted on
the occasion of his 100th birthday for his almost
half-century of continuous activity in the ARRL Field
Organization as an Official Observer, an as Official
Emergency Station and Official Relay Station, and as the
2012 George Hart Service Award recipient. Nitsch, the first
Centurion Award recipient, died on August 5.
- Charles “Cliff” Kayhart, W4KKP, of White Rock, South
Carolina, believed to be the oldest active radio amateur in
the US at age 107. He remains active in two radio clubs in
his area.
- Ted Zulkowski, K2JMY, of Poughkeepsie, New York, on the
occasion of his 100th birthday, who is actively involved
with several local radio clubs including the Mount Beacon
Amateur Radio Club and the QSY Society and is an
accomplished DXer. He participates in many events, including
ARRL Field Day and always takes time to mentor new hams, the
Board resolution noted.
MONDAY EDITION: I was listening on 75 last
night to several different rag chews last night and one in
particular was being interfered with using a "woodpecker" device to
tune up an amp and save the tube. This elite ham jammed for over
three hours continuously, every time I checked the frequency it was
going. It didn't stop hams from communicating but it was annoying.
Don't you wonder what kind of world class knob head would spend his
night jamming and beating the shit out of his amplifier? It sure as
hell wasn't an Ameritron amp!....
Chinese satellite DSLWP-2 (Longjian-2) gives RF spectrum of
Earth seen from Moon
According to reports in the Chinese media (see for example
http://www.ccnovel.com/bolan/2019-08-03/133863.html ) the
Chinese microsatllite DSLWP-2 which had been
orbiting the Moon has now been crashed into it having completed the
mission.
This mission included mapping RF interference from the Earth by
studying its occlusion by the Moon during lunar orbit.
The Chinese press report (in google translate) that "The main goal
of the ultra-long wave detector is to use the lunar natural
occlusion of the Earth's radio frequency interference, and to verify
the technology of ultra-long wave astronomical observation and solar
radiation research. The detector detects the radiation spectrum at
different positions of the lunar orbit, acquires the 1-30MHz
ultra-long-wave continuum of the lunar orbit, completes the earth
radio interference survey, and also carries out various types of
moon-covering tests, and carries out various key technologies for
payload. verification."
Figure 1 below, taken from the Chinese Press, shows "Distribution
Characteristics of Earth's Interference Spectrum in the 1-30MHz Band
Obtained by Longjiang No.2"
D4C Contest team set up new 432 MHz station on Cape Verde
Islands
So far in 2019, the D4C contest team off the
west coast of Africa have made some pretty amazing contacts on
144 MHz using the call D41CV. Many of these
contacts to the Caribbean and Europe were well in excess of 4000
kms in distance.
The D4C team have recently announced that they are now active
on 432 MHz (70cms).
"We are now capable to be active on #70cm #432Mhz #uhf using
a 16 El yagi "Pinocchio" model (wooden boom) home made.
Transverter connected to @FlexRadioSystem 6600M driving a solid
state PA running 100W seems working as we have worked on SSB loc
IM66 for 3000 km dx #hamradio"
This now raises the possibility of new records being set on
this UHF band.
More info...
NEWS
WEEKEND EDITION: What a beauty weather wise
predicted for the weekend...boating and beaching. ....Norm pointed
out to me something about the new OO program being rolled out. You
must be an ARRL member to be
considered, interesting huh! Nothing about that in the agreement
between the FCC and ARRL, just a little twist the ARRL threw
in......
FCC Fines North Carolina Man for Unauthorized and Misleading
Public Safety Transmissions
The FCC this week issued a $39,278
Forfeiture Order against Ocean Hinson of Surry County,
North Carolina, for intentional misuse of a local public safety
radio communications network, in violation of §301 of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended. “Mr. Hinson
impersonated first responders in unauthorized radio
communications on Surry County’s licensed public safety
frequency,” the FCC said. “On October 17, 2017, Surry County
officials, responding to a fire alarm triggered at a local
residence, transmitted a request for a unit from the Westfield
Volunteer Fire Department. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Hinson,
posing as ‘Westfield VFD Unit 7331,’ responded, using the mobile
radio in his personal vehicle and stated that he was en route to
the scene of the alarm. Approximately 4 minutes later, Mr.
Hinson…cancelled the call. As a result of these two
transmissions, no real first responder investigated the
triggered residential fire alarm. Fortunately, no fire actually
occurred at the scene of the alarm.”
Foundations of Amateur Radio
It broke and now what?
Imagine you're a new amateur. You've woken up in the middle of
the night because insomnia seems like a good way to use amateur
radio as an excuse to get on air and make some noise. You turn on
the radio, key up the transmitter and the next thing you know it's
dark. The breaker that powers your radio popped and there's no more
glow coming from the hardware that's warming up your shack.
You get up, reset the breaker, tighten up your dressing gown and
switch on your gear. You sit down and key up. Pop, darkness.
What do you do next?
The first thing to realise is that there is something wrong. That
might sound obvious, the radio just tripped the breaker and it went
off, but sometimes it's not that obvious, sometimes there's
something wrong, but it's not nearly as clear as light and dark. For
example, you might key up and the SWR goes high. You might not even
notice if your radio is set to monitor the power output, or the
automatic gain control that indicates how well your audio is going
out.
The point is that noticing that something is wrong is a matter of
paying attention. Just sitting there all dumb and happy, mashing the
microphone is going to cost money or cost something else one day
when you stop paying attention.
So, finding out what's wrong starts with noticing that something
is amiss.
If you've been clued in that something is broken, and you're not
standing next to your radio with a fire extinguisher, or tears
running down your cheeks because you just blew up your new radio,
you can move onto the next part of this little adventure.
One thing to note is that it's really easy to make it worse at
this point. Making it worse arrives in all manner of different ways,
pain, either physical, RF burns, smoke, sparks, or mental like the
emptying of your wallet when it goes pear-shape.
The art of troubleshooting is the process of attempting to learn
what's going on. Some people know instinctively how to do this,
others just wiggle stuff, unplug stuff and hope for the best. Hoping
for the best is not the best plan.
One of the most basic aspects of troubleshooting, of trying to
figure out what's happened, is to document what you find. Write it
down. I know you're going to skip this, but it's going to bite you
and then you'll be sorry and I'll be here telling you that I told
you so. So write it down. Be meticulous. In case you're wondering,
you're doing this for your own benefit, not my sense of curiosity.
If you measure a value now and it's 7 Ohm and you change something
and then you measure again and it's 23 Ohm, if you didn't write it
down, you'll never know. Especially if the two measurements are a
week apart.
Next basic concept is to change as little as possible, preferably
one thing at a time. That's easy for me to say while your reptilian
hind-brain is currently attempting to decide between whom to murder
first and how fast to run. There is a tendency during panic to
wildly wave your hands about and fiddle with lots of stuff. The urge
to do that is strong. Resist that urge with all that you have.
Again, you're going to ignore that and I'm going to stifle my I told
you so chant, but less is more. This is important. If you change two
things, you've just doubled the possible causes. If you change
three, there are now six different causes and if you change four
things, we're up to 24 different versions of the problem. Keep it
simple.
Third concept is to test things. The smaller the test, the
better. For example, you're connected to the right antenna, right?
The power supply is giving out the right voltage, right? The squelch
is open, right? The microphone is plugged in, right? Test each of
those, one at a time. The more you troubleshoot, the more this list
will come naturally. Right now you're probably cursing me for not
supplying you with a ready-made list. That's because my shack is
nothing like yours, not even a little bit. Also, your shack keeps
changing. Besides we're learning the skill of troubleshooting and I
already know how to do that. Mind you, truth be told, I've been
known to make mistakes too, so there's that.
Forth concept is about testing gear. There is a tendency within
our community to buy gadgets. The more the better, a volt meter, an
ohm meter, an ammeter, an SWR meter, an oscilloscope, a VNA, a
what-ever. The more toys the better. While toys, uh tools, help,
they're not the answer to every question. You have a more
fundamental issue to deal with. Garbage in equals garbage out. If
you measure ohms, but needed volts, there's no helping you. So,
instead of focussing on what new tool to acquire, focus on what
measurement you need to make to prove that something works, or
doesn't.
The process of troubleshooting doesn't come naturally to
everyone. I know, I've seen some very panicked people break some
very expensive hardware, seen full-bright scholars make bonehead
mistakes and heard stories of physicists narrowly avoiding
electrocution, so don't be shy when you say that you're not sure how
to really do troubleshooting.
You can learn. We all did, me included.
I'm Onno VK6FLAB
A new source of space radiation
As if astronauts didn't have enough to worry about.
Researchers at UCLA using NASA's THEMIS spacecraft have
identified a new source of space radiation.
A natural particle accelerator embedded in Earth's own
magnetic field is shooting "killer electrons" at satellites and
departing spacecraft.
Their research is highlighted on today's edition of
Spaceweather.com.
Delaware Radio Amateur Earmarks WWROF Contribution for Youth
Contesting Initiatives
The World Wide Radio Operators Foundation ( WWROF)
has announced receipt of a $25,000 donation from contester
Charles “Chick” Allen, NW3Y, of Seaford, Delaware. His
contribution will be used at the discretion of the WWROF
Board of Directors to promote and enhance youth involvement
in contesting, WWROF said in announcing the contribution.
“It is truly an honor to work with WWROF by providing
support for one of Amateur Radio’s greatest needs —
encouraging youth to discover and enjoy radiosport in new
and creative ways,” Allen said.
WWROF Chairman Tim Duffy, K3LR, thanked Allen for his
generosity. “On behalf of the WWROF, I want to express our
gratitude for Chick’s donation and am excited about what it
will mean for the future of contesting,”
VK3DX active for International Lighthouse and
Lightship Weekend
The Standard newspaper reports Warrnambool radio amateurs will be
operating VK3DX from Portland's Whalers Bluff
lighthouse on August 17-18 as part of International Lighthouse and
Lightship Weekend
Greg McNamara VK3UT said the event was held on the
third weekend of August every year, with Warrnambool Amateur Radio
Group members spending two days chatting to enthusiasts from more
than 100 stations.
He said locals visitors, tourists and scout groups also attended the
event.
Read the full story at
https://www.standard.net.au/story/6296187/amateur-radio-group-back-on-the-airwaves/
Ham Radio Magazine Cofounder, Publisher Skip Tenney, W1NLB, SK
Ham Radio Magazine cofounder and publisher Skip Tenney,
W1NLB, of Francestown, New Hampshire, died on August 4 after a
period of declining health. He was 89. In 1968, Tenney and Jim
Fisk, W1DTY (SK), joined forces to publish Ham Radio Magazine,
which was published for 23 years. Tenney launched the spin-off
Ham Radio Report, edited by Joe Schroeder, W9JUV (SK), a
weekly Amateur Radio newsletter, and in 1978, Ham Radio
Publishing Group started Ham Radio HORIZONS, aimed at a
more general ham radio readership.
Ham Radio Publishing Group was sold to CQ Communications in
1990, and in his retirement, Tenney was a farmer in Vermont and
New Hampshire. — Thanks to Craig Clarke, K1QX
World Scout Jamboree Ham Radio Balloon Crosses Atlantic
An APRS Amateur Radio balloon, call sign NA1WJ-5,
launched from the recent World Scout
Jamboree in West Virginia, has floated across the Atlantic
Ocean. The
Scouting Magazine
blog reports: “You can reach practically any
corner of the globe via Amateur Radio. That’s the message K2BSA
wanted to show Scouts at the World Scout Jamboree. Those in the
Amateur Radio association launched four Mylar balloons from the
Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia, in hopes that one would
catch the jet stream and end up on the other side of the world.
One did.”
Each balloon, approximately 3 feet in diameter, was equipped
with GPS and a ham radio transmitter and solar panels. The
combination of devices could relay weather, movement, and
location information. Each helium-filled balloon was capable of
attaining an altitude of between 28 Former ARRL Headquarters Staff Member John Nelson, K0IO
(ex-W1GNC), SK
Former HQ staffer John Nelson, K0IO (ex-W1GNC), of Kellogg,
Iowa, died on August 4. An ARRL Life Member, he was 72. Over his
25 years (1970 – 1995) on the Headquarters staff, Nelson served
as circulation manager, deputy publications manager, and
planning and financial analysis manager. He curated the former
ARRL lobby display of vintage radio artifacts. In an article
published last year about the 80th anniversary of the Newton
(Iowa) Amateur Radio Association, Nelson told the Newton
Daily News that he first became interested in ham radio by
reading a copy of CQ Magazine at a store when he was in
6th grade.
A graduate of the University of South Dakota, Nelson was vice
president and an active member of the Newton Amateur Radio
Association, and an active storm spotter. “Ham radio was truly
his passion,” his sister Ellen Pierson, said. After retiring, he
pursued a second career publishing books related to the history
of the Rock Island Railroad, but he kept in touch with several
of his former ARRL colleagues on the air and via email.
“John was always there to help, in his relatively soft-spoken
way,” said ARRL Radiosport and Field Services Manager Bart
Jahnke, W9JJ, who had worked with Nelson. Ninth YOTA Summer Camp Gets Under Way on August 11
Up to 80 young radio amateurs, primarily from IARU Region 1 but
including participants from other parts of the world, will
gather in Bulgaria on August 11 for the ninth annual Youngsters
on the Air ( YOTA)
Summer Camp. Special call sign LZ19YOTA will be on the air
during the weeklong event, hosted by the Bulgarian Federation of
Radio Amateurs (BFRA). The event offers an opportunity for the
participants to foster international friendships and goodwill
and learn new Amateur Radio skills. The main theme will be
“train the trainer” (TTT).
Participants will be working on the future of Amateur Radio and
be involved in workshops to gain skills to start similar ham
radio youth events when they get back home.
“We are aiming to create a snowball effect,” the YOTA
announcement said. “There will be more and more YOTA events all
over the world. This also allows other youngsters and newcomers
to enjoy Amateur Radio.”
Activities will include kit building and an opportunity to
visit the surrounding region, including the ACOM amplifier
factory. QSL LZ19YOTA via the bureau to LZ1BJ. Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2180
for Friday August 9th, 2019
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2180 with a release date of
Friday, August 9th 2019 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. Hams provide critical communications during
a major fire in Arizona. Radio Caroline sets sail on the HF bands --
and the space station pays tribute to a pioneering Silent Key. All
this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Number 2180 comes your way
right now.
ARIZONA HAMS AID COMMUNICATIONS DURING MASSIVE FIRE
NEIL/ANCHOR: We begin this week's report with word of successful ham
response in the face of a major fire that whipped through northern
Arizona. The blaze, known as the Museum Fire for its proximity to
two major area museums, spread the flames well beyond 50 acres
spurring the activation of the Coconino (Coca-Nino) County Amateur
Radio Club's emergency operations. The blaze eventually grew to
cover more than 500 acres. The club's public information officer Dan
Shearer N7YIQ noted on the group's website that the club's ARES
members staffed the county Emergency Operations Center providing
communications as aircraft and special firefighting teams were
called in to help contain the blaze. He said that the club's
personnel provided more than 250 hours of radio support. By the 26th
of July, however, the ARES volunteers were placed on standby. By the
5th of August, the blaze was declared 93 percent contained but not
before it had covered nearly 2,000 acres.
A PLEA FOR AMATEUR RADIO FROM MOUNT ATHOS
NEIL/ANCHOR: A special plea to the amateur radio community has come
from a monk living at the monastery on Mount Athos in Greece. Jason
Daniels VK2LAW has more on that story.
JASON: A plea for support has been issued to the global amateur
radio community from Monk Iakovos SV2RSG, a member of the same
monastery on Mount Athos where the well-regarded DXer Monk Apollo
SV2ASP/A lived before becoming a Silent Key in May of this year.
Hoping to provide emergency communications and other radio contacts
from the 20th most wanted DXCC entity, Monk Apollo had become a ham
in 1988 but he was unable to get on the air for another two years
while he awaited approval from the Holy Council.
Posting on Sunday August 4th in the QR Zed Forums, Monk Iakovos said
he was writing to affirm the validity of his amateur radio license
with the appropriate government authorities but noted that the
monastery itself has traditionally had no involvement or concern in
amateur radio activities. He wrote that Mount Athos has been going
through what he called {quote} "a time period of total radio silence
and relevant activity," {endquote} largely because the Holy
Community fails to understand the value of amateur radio.
He wrote: {quote} "With the status of a Holy Mount Athos Monk and as
a Radio Amateur at the same time, I invite and urge you and all
those who love Mount Athos and the tradition of Amateur Radio to
join our hearts and voices in sending letters or emails of support
in spirit of respect to the Holy Community." {endquote} It is his
hope that amateur radio on Mount Athos will not end with the death
of Monk Apollo.
SILENT KEY: SWISS SHORTWAVE's BOB THOMANN HB9GX
NEIL/ANCHOR: A star of Swiss shortwave radio, where he was a beloved
radio host for decades, has become a Silent Key. Here's Robert
Broomhead VK3DN with details.
ROBERT: The founder of the Swiss Shortwave Merry-Go-Round which
aired during the 1950s on SBC/Swiss Radio International, has become
a Silent Key. Bob Thomann HB9GX died on the 3rd of August. Writing
on the Shortwave Listening Post, his former colleague Bob Zanotti
HB9ASQ told of the years when their on-air partnership was known as
"The Two Bobs," a radio team on Swiss Radio International that
lasted for nearly a quarter century until 1994. He said that Bob
maintained a constant presence on the show and even when he was
hospitalized during the 1980s, he went on the air courtesy of a
telephone hookup.
Archives of the show can still be heard on his website
switzerlandinsound dot com (switzerlandinsound.com). Bob Zanotti
called the collection a memorial to his friend and colleague. He
wrote: {quote} "I will always fondly remember those golden days we
shared together." {endquote} Bob Thomann would have celebrated his
91st birthday in September.
SILENT KEY: RADIO 'GODFATHER' FRITZ NITSCH W4NTO
NEIL/ANCHOR: A well-decorated World War II veteran and a Morse Code
enthusiast known as the "godfather of ham radio in Spartanburg
County, South Carolina" has become a Silent Key.
Reynold Lepage "Fritz" Nitsch W4NTO, a four-time winner of the
Bronze Star for his military service, died at his home on the 5th of
August according to the Spartanburg County Community Emergency
Response Team. As a young soldier, Fritz's earliest assignment had
been to conduct Morse Code training at Camp Croft in Spartanburg. As
a veteran who kept up his skills, his talent and love for mentoring
eventually earned him the nickname of the "godfather" of hams in the
county.
Fritz was the last surviving charter member of the Spartanburg
Amateur Radio Club, founded in 1952. As a Red Cross volunteer, he
was given the Clara Barton Award for Meritorious Volunteer Service
in 1984.
Fritz was 100.
AN AMATEUR RADIO RECORD FOR INDIA
NEIL/ANCHOR: There's nothing like setting new records in ham radio
and this one - for licenses - belongs to India, as John Williams
VK4JJW tells us.
JOHN: Hams in India have set a new record, according to statistics
from that nation's Department of Telecommunications. Tracking the
number of new ham radio licences issued in the financial year
2018-2019, officials tallied a total of 1,155. They called that
number a "significant increase" over the previous financial year's
total of 838.
The statistics also show that 1,414 amateur radio examinations were
given during the same 12-month fiscal period ending on March 31,
2019.
India has two licence classes: General and Restricted. A 20-year
licence costs one thousand rupees, the equivalent of 15 U.S. dollars
and a lifetime licence costs two thousand rupees, or the equivalent
of 30 U.S. dollars.
RADIO CAROLINE SETS SAIL ON THE HF WAVES
NEIL/ANCHOR: A legendary home of pirate radio in the UK came alive
with amateur radio recently and our own Ed Durrant DD5LP was on
board. Here's his report.
ED: The Martello Tower group ran the special event call sign GB55RC
last week-end to celebrate 55 years since the first UK offshore
radio station, Radio Caroline went on air. The group report a good
number of contacts in the log following their activation on board
the Ross Revenge. The Radio Caroline ship is moored in the River
Blackwater estuary in Southern England as a floating pirate radio
museum.
Your own Amateur Radio Newsline reporter Ed, DD5LP was lucky to be
able to book a place on the tour to and around the ship on August
the 3rd when the activation was in full swing. Contacts from VK,
North and South America were already in the log by Saturday
afternoon and the final totals were 1699 SSB and 959 FT8 contacts.
For further coverage, please check out the upcoming feature in
Edition 302 from our friends at icqpodcast.com and of course GB55RC
on QRZ.COM, Martello Tower Group dot com, where Martello Tower Group
is written as one word and Radio Caroline dot co dot uk on the web.
ISS EVENT PAYS TRIBUTE TO SILENT KEY WHO WAS RADIO PIONEER IN SPACE
NEIL/ANCHOR: Hams recently received some memorable images of a
pioneering astronaut and amateur, thanks to the ISS and slow-scan
TV. Dave Parks WB8ODF has that story.
DAVE: Using slow-scan TV, Amateur Radio on the International Space
Station has ensured that the images of Owen Garriott W5LFL - the
first astronaut to operate ham radio during a space mission - will
live on. For four days, beginning on the first of August, ARISS
hosted a global commemorative event honoring the radio operator, who
became a Silent Key in April. It was his example and his influence
that led to the later establishment of the Shuttle Amateur Radio
Experiment, or SAREX, that paved the way for ARISS.
Hams who received the images are eligible to receive something else:
an SSTV ARISS Award which is being given to radio operators who have
posted their images for viewing by the public. To view these images,
which were received by hams worldwide, visit spaceflightsoftware dot
com slash ARISS underscore SSTV (spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_SSTV)
sin on Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m.
IRELAND GAINS NEW CROP OF DMR REPEATERS
NEIL/ANCHOR: Ireland is growing a new crop of DMR repeaters and the
network promises great coverage, as we hear from Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
JEREMY: As DMR's popularity continues to expand in Ireland, so too
does the number of Brandmeister network repeaters that are a part of
the Galway DMR Repeater Network. The new repeaters, primarily on
70cm, are Loughrea EI7LRD; Galway City EI7RHD; Abbeyknockmoy EI7AKR
and Inishbofin Island EJ7IBD.
This last repeater, installed in July of this year, is the first
repeater to be installed on an offshore island. According to Steve
Wright EI5DD it is the only repeater with an EJ prefix. Steve said
its installation coincided with the annual holiday-DXpedition of the
Galway Radio Club and its participation in the IOTA contest.
The Abbeyknockmoy repeater is expected to be on the air in
September.
Time Slot 1 on these repeaters is being used for international calls
and TG 9 local. On Time Slot 2, the repeaters offer static talk
groups 2722, 2723 and 2724, offering almost total coverage of County
Galway as well as the neighbouring counties of Clare, Roscommon and
Mayo.
Steve told Newsline in an email that the Galway VHF Group also runs
a multimode digital gateway EI2GCD for D-STAR, DMR and Fusion and a
Wires-X gateway EI2SHD. Galway has a Fusion Repeater EI2TBR which is
to be placed on the same site as the EI7LRD Loughrea repeater. DMR,
he said, is slowly gaining popularity in Ireland and 170 Registered
operators have accessed the system during the last two and a half
years.
SMALL BEACON FOUND TO HAVE BIG VIOLATION
NEIL/ANCHOR: In New Zealand, regulators tracked down - and cracked
down - on registration of small beacons designed for use in
emergency situations. Here's Jim Meachen ZL2BHF with more.
JIM: A Personal Locator Beacon that was transmitting on 406 MHz in
New Zealand and was unregistered was successfully tracked down
recently by Radio Spectrum Management's compliance team with
assistance from the New Zealand Police. The life-saving tracking
devices, known as PLBs, are used for distress situations only and
the law requires registration of all beacons transmitting on the
emergency radio frequency of 406 MHz.
New Zealand's Rescue Coordination Centre had requested help in
finding the beacon, which also put out a homing signal on 121.5 MHz.
The RSM picked up the 406 MHz transmissions about 2 km, or 1.2
miles, from the beacon's location and then detected the homing
signal some 100m, or 328 feet, away.
Published reports say the police were called in because of health
and safety concerns with respect to the address to where the beacon
had been traced but offered no other details. Registering a beacon
that uses the emergency frequency helps the Rescue Coordination
Centre find the owner's information if their device is activated.
Beacons can be registered for free at beacons dot org dot nz (beacons.org.nz)
FT8 DIGITAL MODE CLUB OPERATES ACTIVITY FOR 2ND ANNIVERSARY
NEIL/ANCHOR: The FT8 Digital Mode Club is as rapidly growing as the
popularity of the mode it celebrates - and there's a real
celebration happening this month. Kevin Trotman N5PRE tells us more.
KEVIN: The fast-growing global community known as the FT8 Digital
Mode Club has grown from an initial group of 100 members in its
earliest days to become a collective of 10,230 members spanning 134
countries. That's something to celebrate - and that's exactly what
the club is doing between the 10th and 24th of August. Members are
marking the club's second anniversary with FT8 Digital Mode Club
Activity Days when stations from Bahrain and Luxembourg to
Guadeloupe and Lebanon will be operating with a suffix of either
FTDMC or FTDM. All logs will be uploaded to Logbook of the World and
eQSL. Anniversary awards will be presented at Bronze, Silver, Gold
and Platinum levels - with Platinum given to radio operators who
have achieved 30 QSOs with all of the commemorative stations.
According to the club website, the award is available for free in
digital format. For more details visit the club's website at ft8dmc
dot eu (ft8dmc.eu).
RADIO SCOUTS WRAP UP 24th WORLD SCOUT JAMBOREE
NEIL/ANCHOR: World Scout Jamboree is over and thousands of
youngsters are looking back on an experience of a lifetime, as we
learn from Bill Stearns NE4RD.
BILL: This week in Radio Scouting, the 24th World Scout Jamboree and
operations at NA1WJ came to a close. Over 45,000 Scouts from 150
countries and over 8,000 staff all departed the Summit Bechtel
Reserve leaving behind a life experience that most Scouts will only
have once in their Scouting career.
The team at NA1WJ was able to demonstrate amateur radio to over 3000
Scouts, making over 4000 QSOs and working over 80 countries. These
contacts were made on HF, D-STAR, Echolink, and satellite. The team
would like to thank all those who contacted the station and spent
time talking to Scouts on the air. QSL request information is on the
K2BSA website.
The team launched, under the expertise of Mike Cullen K1NPT, 4 high
altitude balloons with APRS payloads. The two farthest traveling
balloons were NA1WJ-6 which made it to Spain before going silent,
and NA1WJ-7 which made it to Tunisia before going silent.
An ARISS contact was also completed where scouts signed up for a
chance to ask a question of assistant Scout master and astronaut
Drew Morgan. Every selected Scout that was able to make it over to
the stage, was given one to two questions to ask. Over 250 attended
the event which was conducted via telebridge with ON4ISS in Belgium
and executed on one of the many outdoor stages at the event.
There will be a final report forthcoming that will detail out the
operation and results, and will be posted on the K2BSA website.
For more information on this and radio scouting, please visit our
website at k2bsa.net.
THE WORLD OF DX
In the world of DX, Gil, IZ2DLV, is operating as 8Q7GB from Nika
Island in the Maldives until August 18th. Gil is operating holiday
style on 40, 30, 20, 17 and 15 meters using CW, SSB and FT8. QSL via
LoTW or ClubLog.
Operators Valdimir RV1CC and Yuri RM0F are using the call signs
RV1CC/0 {zero} and RM0F/P respectively from Iturup Island beginning
August 15th. They'll be on various HF bands. For QSL details visit
QRZ.com.
Be listening too on the weekend of August 17th and August 18th for
hams calling QRZ during International Lighthouse & Lightship
weekend. Please check out ILLW dot NET on the web for additional
information (illw.net).
KICKER: A VIDEO VOYAGE WITH 3Y0I TO BOUVET
NEIL/ANCHOR: Finally - With Bouvet Island reaffirmed as the second
most wanted DXCC entity, what can hams do until it's time to listen
again for DXpeditioners on a calling frequency? Here's Mike Askins
KE5CXP with one idea.
MIKE: So you think you missed out on a chance for contact with the
Bouvet Island DXpedition team Three Y Zero Eye (3Y0I)? Guess again.
You can now share 27 minutes and 19 seconds of adventure and radio
with the team -- and while it's not quite a ragchew it is a valid
contact of another sort. So many months later, they are back with a
video called "The Road to Bouvet," a chronicle of their attempt
earlier this year before their landing on remote island's western
shore was scrapped by a monstrous storm and damage it caused to
their vessel. They were only 70 nautical miles from their
destination when they made the difficult decision to turn back.
Team member Mietek, SP3CMX, who made the video, cautions viewers -
whether they get seasick or not - to simply "Buckle Up" and click on
the video on the Rebel DX group's website. You'll be watching the
DXpedition unfold just before the Atlantic Tuna's journey was
scrapped.
No it won't earn you a QSL card but that's still not out of the
question. The team has plans to set off once again later this year
Hopefully everyone is planning on participating in all 3
sessions, but if your schedule won’t allow please join us for 1
or 2 sessions.
It is also a great time to get your teams registered. Just
follow the instructions on the CWOps web site on the CW Open
drop down.
https://cwops.org/cwops-tests/cw-open/
Ham
radio operator killed when tower he was dismantling collapses
A ham radio enthusiast who took care of Manchester's public school
grounds for 20 years was killed over the weekend when a radio tower
he and a friend were dismantling collapsed.
Joe Areyzaga, of Goffstown, was known to his fellow ham radio
enthusiasts by his call sign, K1JGA. They said he was a good friend,
loving husband and father to six. His friend, Dave Bolduc, shared a
photo of the two working on Bolduc's radio tower.
"You're going up, inspecting it and making sure everything looks
good, bolted tight," Bolduc said. "We all have all the very
appropriate gear."
Areyzaga was killed and another amateur radio friend was seriously
injured when he was helping his friend dismantle his radio tower in
Deerfield.
"Upon arrival, the first member from the department found two
individuals entangled in what appeared to be a tower and some sort
of cabling that was on the ground," Fire Chief Matt Fisher said.
The men were harnessed to a section of tower more than 40 feet up
when the tower collapsed.
"They always used the utmost safety," said Areyzaga's wife,
Elizabeth Areyzaga. "It was just a freak accident. It was some sort
of soft spot somewhere in the tower."
His wife said her husband was a self-taught handyman who could fix
anything. She said he loved his job working for Aramark and
overseeing the grounds of Manchester's public schools.
"He was an incredible, incredible person, and the world will never
be as bright now that he's not in it," she said.
Members of New Hampshire's tightknit ham radio community said Joe
Areyzaga was someone who was always willing to help.
"He would drop anything to do anything for anybody, ham-related or
not," Bolduc said.
Officials called the death a tragic accident. Fellow amateur radio
enthusiasts said they hope to learn from what happened so it doesn't
happen again.
New England Hams
you might run across 75
meters.........
K1TP-
Jon....Editor of As The World
Turns....
W1GEK-
Big Mike....Nearfest Cook, big
motor home, electronics software
engineer ...
AA1SB-
Neil...Living large traveling
the country with his
girlfriend...loves CW
N1YX-
Igor....peddles quality Russian
keys, software engineer
K1BGH...Art.....Restores
cars and radio gear, nice fella...
N1XW.....Mike-easy
going, Harley riding kind of
guy!
K1JEK-Joe...Easy going, can
be found at most ham flea market
...Cobra Antenna builder..
KA1GJU-
Kriss- Tower climbing pilot who
cooks on the side at
Hosstrader's...
W1GWU-Bob....one
of the Hosstrader's original
organizers, 75 meter regular,
Tech Wizard!!!
K1PV-
Roger....75 meter regular, easy
going guy...
W1XER...Scott....easy
going guy, loves to split
cordwood and hunt...
WS1D-
Warren- "Windy" - Bullnet
KB1VX-
Barry- the picture says it all,
he loves food!
KC1BBU-
Bob....the Mud Duck from the
Cape Cod Canal, making a lot of
noise.
W1STS- Scott...philosopher,
hat
connoisseur,
KB1JXU-
Matthew...75 meter regular...our
token liberal Democrat out of VT
KA1BXB-Don....75
meter Regular......residing on
the Cape of Cod, flying planes
and playing radio
KMIG-Rick....75
Meter Regular....teaches the
future of mankind, it's scary!
K1PEK-Steve..Founder
of Davis-RF....my best friend
from high school
K9AEN-John...Easy
going ham found at all the ham
fests
K1BXI- John.........Dr.
Linux....fine amateur radio op
....wealth of experience...
K1BQT.....Rick....very
talented ham, loves his
politics, has designed gear for
MFJ...
W1KQ- Jim- Retired
Air Force
Controller...told quite a few
pilots where to go!
N1OOL-Jeff-
The 3936 master plumber and
ragchewer...
K1BRS-Bruce-
Computer Tech of 3936...multi
talented kidney stone passing
ham...
K1BGH- Arthur, Cape Cod,
construction company/ice cream
shop, hard working man....
W1VAK-
Ed, Cape Cod, lots of experience
in all areas, once was a Jacques
Cousteus body guard....
KD1ZY-
Warren....3910 regular with
WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDE
signal
N1YSU-
Bob, easy going, kind of
like Mr. Rogers until politics
are brought up then watch out...
K1BNH-
Bill- Used to work for a bottled
gas company-we think he has been
around nitrous oxide to long .
Silent KeyVA2GJB-
Graham...one of the good 14313
guys back in the day.
Silent Key
K1BHV-
David...PITA
Silent Key
W1JSH-
Mort...Air Force man
Silent Key
K1MAN--Glen....PITA
Silent KeyKB1CJG-"Cobby"-
Low key gent can be found on
many of the 75 meter
nets.........
Silent KeyWB1AAZ-
Mike, Antrim, NH, auto parts
truck driver-retired
Silent KeyWB1DVD-
Gil....Gilly..Gilmore.....easy
going, computer parts selling,
New England Ham..
Silent Key
W1OKQ-
Jack....3936 Wheeling and
Dealing......keeping the boys on
there toes....
Silent Key
W1TCS-
Terry....75 meter
regular, wealth of electronic
knowledge...
Silent Key
WIPNR-
Mack....DXCC Master, worked them
all!.. 3864 regular for many
years...
Silent Key
WILIM-
Hu....SK at 92... 3864
regular for many years...
Silent Key
N1SIE-
Dave....Loves to fly
Silent Key:N1WBD-
Big Bob- Tallest ham, at 6'10",
of the 3864 group
Silent Key:
W1FSK-Steve....Navy
Pilot, HRO Salesman, has owned
every radio ever built!
Silent Key:
W4NTI-Vietnam
Dan....far from easy going cw
and ssb op on 14275/313
Silent Key:K1FUB-Bill-
Loved ham radio.... |
